


bittersweet and delicate: marichat may 2020

by death-by-ladybug (fandomchildd), fandomchildd



Series: 2020 prompt months [12]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: ...eventually, Actual Cat Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Needs a Hug, Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, Adrinette | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, Cursed Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Curses, F/M, Fantasy AU, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Happy Ending, Hurt Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Hurt/Comfort, Loss, Marichat May, Marichat May 2020, Marichat | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Needs a Hug, Protective Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, There will be fluff, Witch AU, Witch Marinette Dupain-Cheng, did i follow the order of the prompts? no, ft. i started this in april so there is a small chance i'll actually finish it in may, no just kidding there'll be fluff in like chapter four
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:22:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 5,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23922277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomchildd/pseuds/death-by-ladybug, https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomchildd/pseuds/fandomchildd
Summary: Marinette's world comes crashing down as her best friend, the boy she's been in love with for six years, disappears. She's not sure what happened, if he left or if he's dead or if his mysterious past finally caught up with him, but she's suddenly alone, in a way she hasn't been in six years, and everything seems to come crashing down. But a strange black cat that seems determined to get her back on her feet won't leave her alone, and there's no time to wallow in her heartbreak when she's got her chat noir keeping life interesting.less dramatic summary: adrien and marinette are witches who own a shop together and they’re secretly in love but neither ever confessed (for SIX YEARS cmon guys just make out already) and then gabriel curses adrien and turns him into a cat and marinette thinks adrien is dead and so catdrien decides it’s his mission to make marinette happy again, with varying degrees of success.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: 2020 prompt months [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1724944
Comments: 28
Kudos: 101





	1. witch au + do not disturb

**Author's Note:**

> me: *sees the first marichat may prompt is witch au* ooOoOOooOh  
> also me: *sees the other prompts* but- but what if i- SO MANY POSSIBILITIES ITS NOT FAIR  
> obviously, i decided on a witch au. i also started writing this the day the prompts come out to give myself a chance to finish this. in april, i wrote about a third of it, planned more, died inside, had regrets, and fully expect to fail. it is now may.  
> expect failure to complete in may.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> marichat may here we goooooo, quick warning i am not following the order of the prompts at all for plot related reasons and also some of them will be two prompts merged and i'm skipping a few unless i manage to squeeze them in. i HOPE to update every two days and be done by the end of may but knowing me, that's unlikely, sorry about that, and chapters will be about 500-1000 words because pressuring myself into writing 1k word chapters all the time is not working at all for consistent updates.

Adrien hummed as he strolled down the street, smiling at nothing in particular, slinging his broom over his shoulder. The unfamiliar people parted as he walked by, none willing to cross a witch like himself. He couldn’t wait to get home to Marinette, but he didn’t mind the city, either. It was nice to have a change of scenery, away from the tiny village of his home. 

A woman in a flashy orange dress stepped in front of him, posing as if it was an accident, and Adrien slowed to a stop, moving as if to walk around her. She stepped to intercept him, meeting his eyes and  _ oh _ , now Adrien recognizes her. 

Lila Rossi. His father’s enchantress. 

The streets suspiciously emptied, and Adrien started to doubt there had been any people there in the first place. 

“It’s been a while, Lila,” he says guardedly, shoving aside his hope that it would just be a quick trip. 

“Yes, it really has,” she replied, her mouth turning up in a sultry smile. 

He’s grateful that years of living with his father taught him to mask his disgust at her unwanted advances, and he paints on a polite smile. “Lila, I really just need to get home.”

“Home?” she laughs incredulously. “That’s what you call that rundown old bakery you live in now, Adrien? Yes, you really  _ do _ need to go home.”

A shiver runs down his spine. He has to go. He has to get back to Marinette. Away from  _ her _ , back to his home, where he doesn’t have to look over his shoulder anymore. 

He’d let his guard down. And now Lila had found him. 

“Don’t worry, Adrien, you’ll only get what you deserve,” she whispered, and something slammed into the back of his head. 

Adrien opened his bleary eyes, the world spinning underneath him. He stumbled to his feet, staring in terror at the magical chains holding him down as a circle formed underneath him, Lila’s uneven chanting echoing through the room as Gabriel glared down at him in disappointment, telling him how he’d failed, how he’d betrayed him, how he’d fucked everything up and how he was going to _pay_ and something was happening and he couldn’t move and his chest felt tight and and _everything hurt_ and he felt _so small_ , insignificant and stupid to think he’d ever matter to anyone. 

Then he caught a glimpse of pink, and memories flashed through his head, pink ribbons, pink fabric, blushes and sparkling magic, bluebell eyes and cheery black pigtails, and he _fought,_ fought off the magic and the hate and the worthlessness because _she cared_ and that’s the only thing that mattered. He dug his claws in (claws? what had they _done_ to him?) and thrashed around, tearing through the partially casted spell and darting out the door before anyone could stop him, Gabriel yelling at him to come back just making him run _faster_. 

It was dark outside, full of tall trees and silence. A forest, probably. 

He scampered through the forest, unused to the grace of his new feline body. He was lucky, he supposed, that he was a black cat. Witches always took care of black cats. He’d be okay. 

Or he would be, if he could just find Marinette. 

The forest that he once knew so well seemed to loom over him, tiny noises roaring in his ears, his heart beating fast as the trees closed in on him. 

He felt small and insignificant, just a tiny cat in a world of darkness. Just another piece of the great big night. 

Even if he wasn’t quite sure it was night. The canopy was thick enough that he couldn’t see the sky, and his newfound night vision didn’t help. 

His legs hurt. His everything hurt. He missed Marinette, he missed the shop, he missed his _home_. The way Marinette wrinkled her nose as she brewed potions, the cheerful way she stumbled over her words, listening to her breathing as he fell asleep, little things that made it less of a house and more of a home. 

It was so cold in the forest. 

He was terrified and hungry, memories of his father standing over him, cursing him, telling him how he’d failed, berating him, hitting him crowding his head. He just wanted to find Marinette again, to live again, to smile and pretend he wasn’t hopelessly in love with her, for his heart to ache as he danced beside her. He didn’t mind the lovesickness anymore, if he could only just be beside her again. 

He doesn’t know how long he’s been gone. He doesn’t know if she misses him or thinks he ran away or if she’s looking for him or _anything_. He’d do anything to see her again. 

There’s a light beyond the trees and Adrien chases it, hoping with all his heart there’s a way out of the forest. Anything would be better than the forest. He’s getting desperate, his lungs burning, and he finally stops, staring at the village with a strange sense of familiarity. Everything is so much bigger than he’s used to, but… could it be _his_ village? Is he really that lucky? He’s a _black cat_ , after all, he _can’t_ be that lucky. 

But he’d know this village anywhere. It’s home, he’s home, he’s _made it_. 

He’s safe. 

He emerges from the trees hopefully, glancing around. Nothing much has changed, so it can’t have been too long since he was cursed!

Adrien plods down the street, dodging horses and feet as he takes everything in. The smells and sights are almost too much after the darkness and foreboding of the woods. A dog runs past him, chasing something or other, barking loudly, and he winces, yowling as a little girl steps on his tail, giving up on appreciating the things he’d missed to dart through the square, intent on reaching the shop before the day is over. 

He skids to a stop at the storefront, peering in the window. Everything is dark, unlike the bustling, thriving place it used to be. What happened?

He spots the “Do Not Disturb” sign in the window and his blood freezes in his veins. He’s only seen that sign once before. No. No, he refuses to believe it. 

Has Marinette… passed away? Did he really fail her that badly?

A noise inside leaves his ears perking up, listening intently for any sign of what happened. He’s desperate. 

Marinette comes puttering into the room, her hair down, dark circles under her eyes and in a black and gray dress, brushing her fingers against a pair of lucky charms he recognises from a different time. The worn off paint of the beads tells him she’s done it a thousand times, and Adrien wants to cry. 

She’s missing _him_ . She thinks _he’s_ dead.


	2. thief + time travel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is. the angstiest chapter. of this entire fic. i am not proud of it at all. posting it is giving me a lot of anxiety because i wrote it a while ago and the longer i go without posting something i've written the more i hate it. i have a strong urge to completely change how things go and scrap everything after the first chapter. oh well lol

Adrien waits until nightfall to slip into the shop, deftly unlocking the door with his claws. Everything is quiet in the night, the sound of Marinette’s rhythmic breathing echoing through the house. He leaps up on the counter, batting at his lucky charm, the one Marinette had given him _years_ ago, sadly. He misses her. She’s right upstairs, he knows, but he doesn’t think he could bear watching her mourning him while he’s next to her. 

An idea strikes him and he glances around, a plan forming in his head, and he takes his lucky charm gently between his teeth. It’s heavier than he expected, but he makes it work, dragging it off the hook and leaping down to the floor. Above him, there’s a thump and Marinette cries out in surprise, and then footsteps descend the stairs and Adrien _runs_ , dashing through the door and slipping away into his newly found stash, a little corner next to the shop that’s safely out of sight and mind, protected from the elements. He curls up around the charm, purring to soothe himself as the scent of her leaves him kneading the tough dirt. Already he’s cold, huddling up and hoping he’ll wake up in the morning. 

The lucky charm gives him hope, gives him a reason to stay alive. He needs to keep it with him, to remind him of what he’s fighting for. If his plan works he won’t need luck anymore, and Marinette will start to heal. 

He has to learn how to survive all over again. He remembers when he first met Marinette, lost and alone with no one to protect him and just enough magical talent to land him a job in her shop. 

_“Hey, Adrien right? I’m Marinette. My friend Alya said you were looking for a job. Got any magical talent?” someone asked, and Adrien whirled around. A short witch stood there, her broom dispelling the rain above them even though they were both already soaked. Her hair hung in wet pigtails but she was beaming, angling her broom to protect him from the rain, too._

_Adrien nodded slowly, cautiously. “Yeah, I have a little bit of magic.”_

_“Good! Here, come with me. I just moved here, my parents own a bakery in the city and I wanted to start my own business,” she babbles on cheerfully, grabbing his hand and leading him to a pink and white shop that’s_ far _too cheerful for the dreary rain._

 _She’s adorable, swinging the door open to welcome him and yelping when it swings back and knocks her into him, staring up at him with a sheepish smile when he catches her. Laughter bubbles up in his chest, but he holds it back, grinning instead. He can’t risk offending her, possibly the only person in this tiny village who’s willing to hire him._ _  
_ _She’s blushing as she pulls him into her shop, showing him around with something like pride glimmering in her eyes. She’s so proud of this little shop, proud that she’s made it this far, and he’s struck with a sense that he_ can’t _let this go. He won’t let her down._

_His heart flutters as she shoots him a wide smile, brightly explaining how the register works, and he’s only thirteen but he doesn’t want to leave this place._

_It feels like a home. He wants it to be_ his _home._

Marinette hears a noise downstairs and gets up with a start, hurrying down the stairs as she throws a blanket over her shoulders. It’s an old habit, from the days when she used to sleep in her underwear. She hasn’t for a long time, not since Adrien moved in, but she never managed to forget her old habits. 

She never managed to forget that Adrien won’t be waiting for her in the morning, sitting on the couch with a book or brewing something or even attempting to surprise her with breakfast. He’s not there, he’ll never be there. 

The kitchen is dark, and with a flick of her fingers she’s holding a ball of light that’s _far_ too bright for her tired eyes but it illuminates the darkened room just fine. She blinks the light out of her eyes a few times and then freezes, her eyes catching on the empty hook where her old lucky charm is supposed to be. 

The charm she’d given Adrien all those years ago. 

_Gone_. 

Her breathing speeds up, and she collapses to her knees. It’s gone. And it can’t be mice, like she suspected, because mice can’t _carry_ those beads away. She’s losing a piece of him, and she’s _scared,_ shivering and hurting, her heart pounding so loudly that she can hear it and the thief probably can too but she doesn’t care, it’s _gone_.

She pulls her lucky charm, the remaining one that _Adrien_ had made for _her_ , and slows her breathing, clutching her lifeline tightly, reminding herself of him, him, _him_. 

But he’s not here. He’s not there, brushing her hair out of her face and giving her that stupid irresistible smile, and holding her close when she’s having a bad day. 

He’s not here but she has her lucky charm, her lifeline, the one thing she’ll never forget. 

And that’s enough. That has to be enough because it’s all she has. 

She can’t stop the tears, overflowing from her eyes, salty and wet. She’s getting tears on her lucky charm, she knows, but she can’t stop crying, crying, crying, until it’s all gone and she has nothing left to cry. 

Her emotions numb over and she slips the lucky charm in her pocket, heading back up the stairs to collapse into her bed as her emotions dull, staying there until she’s strong enough to peel herself back out of bed and let herself feel again. He’s only been gone for weeks but she’s lost without him already. 

She wishes she was thirteen again, cheerful and unstoppable, finding a lonely boy in the rain and bringing him home, dragging him back again and again until he’s home with her. She wishes she could start all over, to commit those little memories that have faded into her mind, so she’ll never forget him. 

If she could start all over again, maybe she could make him stay. Maybe she’d have the courage to tell him how she felt and deal with the consequences. When- no, _if_ she ever sees him again, she’s going to tell him. She’ll tell him how she loves him and pray to the stars that he won’t turn around and leave again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry?
> 
> but seriously though, this is the worst of the angst. after this there's a chapter of lighter angst, then chapter four is fluffier and the rest continues on much smoother because mari and chat are there for each other instead of both of them being alone


	3. dare

Adrien realizes he’s fucked up as he hops onto the windowsill, stretching and resisting the urge to dig his claws into something. Marinette looks even more hollow eyed than yesterday, her hand dropping into her pocket to reassure herself that she still has her lucky charm every few seconds. She’s jumpy and distracted, knocking things over with a clumsiness that she hasn’t had since she was thirteen, bumbling around her new shop with inexperience where it really mattered. Not that Adrien was much better, back then. He’d been shy and terrified and uncertain but they got through it, together, and grew and shone so brightly together. 

She looks so dim now. 

His plan decided, he slips back to his hideaway, picking up his charm. He’ll probably regret this later, regret losing his only possession, but now he can’t  _ stand _ it, can’t stand seeing the light in Marinette’s eyes lost and darkened. It’s a risk, yes, but a calculated one. 

At this point, even anger would be better than this depression, the grief thickening over the building once so full of stubborn joy. 

Marinette is stubborn. This has to work. 

_ Anything _ to bring back some light in her eyes. 

He bonks his head against the glass and she  _ jumps _ , eyes wide and stares at him, daring her to come outside and reclaim the charm. 

She comes up to the glass and rests her forehead against it, exhaustion clearly visible on her features. She’s only nineteen, she shouldn’t look like this, like she’s faced the whole world head on and the world won, like she’s barely a shell of herself. He hates it. He hates it and that’s why he’s doing this. 

“That’s mine, kitty,” Marinette tells him through the glass, and he tilts his head and swishes his tail, as if motioning for her to come out here and get it. She glares at him halfheartedly, something shifting in her movements, and she summons her broom, checking her reflection in the mirror before shrugging it off as hopeless (she used to care, to look pretty but not  _ too _ pretty, to smile and keep her reputation of a bubbly pretty in pink good witch, pretending their comments didn’t bother her and doing all she could to keep herself away from their gossip. Now she runs her fingers through greasy hair and doesn’t even bother to put it in pigtails, her clothes shades of black and gray instead of pink.) But she’s not drooping as much anymore, determination outweighing her sadness, and she’s going to be okay. She’s going to live. 

She’s going to be okay, she realizes. She’s going outside today. Even if it’s to chase down a lucky charm that only reminds her of  _ him _ , she’s going to heal. This stupid cat is pushing her outside, but it’s exactly what she needs. Proof that she’ll be okay. Proof that she’s not so lost anymore. 

Marinette’s hand lands on the doorknob, and she nearly turns right back around. But the cat is just outside. She can do this. She can leave her home,  _ their _ home, she can go outside for just a few moments. 

The door opens, and she doesn’t remember opening it. But that’s okay and she steps outside, shielding her eyes from the sunlight, and takes a moment to take in the overwhelming  _ outside _ . She hasn’t been outside in longer than she’d like to admit. He’s been gone for weeks, and she doesn’t deal well with loss, she knows. 

She’s outside. And… it feels okay. Her whole existence can’t revolve around a boy. (Even if he was her best friend. The person who woke her up in the morning so she could eat before they opened the shop, the smiling face bringing her hot chocolate and breakfast, the one to test all her spells and laugh about the failures, to cheer her up when she was down, the one who dragged her off to bed when she was staying up too late again, the person she shared sunsets and designs and everything, really, with, he was her everything. And she missed him, and she doesn’t think she’ll ever get over him, really, but she’s going to make it. He’d tell her she’s okay. He’d tell her everything is going to be okay, that she needed to keep on living. He was gone, she doesn’t know why, but. She’ll take a piece of him everywhere she goes.)

The cat is waiting for her, almost patiently, and she nearly breaks down in tears. It’s so like  _ him _ but that’s okay. 

Her hair falls in her eyes and she curses, shoving it away. The cat pauses as he stares back at her, silently reminding her that she needs to take care of herself. She never used to wear her hair down, but she’s not ready to wear pigtails and pink yet. 

She pulls her hair up into buns, the cat nodding approvingly and darting away, Adrien’s lucky charm clutched between his jaw. Marinette sighs, taking off through the streets. 

It feels nice to run, to chase something. It’s almost like she’s racing Adrien to the square again, laughing and feeling like nothing could ever bring her down. The wind on her face, the whole village her home, waving at Alya and Nino as she passed by their house. 

She hasn’t seen Alya since Adrien disappeared. Maybe it’s time to change that. 

Marinette reaches out just as the black cat pops out of the bushes next to her, scooping him up in her arms. She gently removes the lucky charm, grateful that it seems unharmed. “Thanks,  _ chaton _ ,” she tells him, even though he’s probably just a regular cat that’s a little more tricky than the rest. Her instincts scream that he’s not, but she can’t dwell on that. If he’s cursed, she’ll figure it out eventually. 

Preferably  _ after _ she’s had time to try to recover. 

Marinette takes a deep breath. She’ll talk to Alya in a few days. She doesn’t think she could manage telling her everything right now, but- she’s outside. She’s  _ here _ . And that’s a step. 


	4. toe beans + blep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the shorter chapter, i really suck at writing fluff and i gave up my 1k word goal for each chapter already lol

Marinette wakes up with an oof as the black cat from yesterday lands on her chest with a thump, muffled by the blankets piled over her. She groans, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. A glance out her window tells her it’s late morning, nearly noon. Far too early for her to be up. Marinette rolls back over and tries to sleep, shoving the cat off of her lightly. 

Undetered, the cat pounces on her again, digging his claws in just enough for her to be aware of it. She glares at him, then stretches, letting out a yawn. 

As much as she hates to admit it, the cat is probably right. She  _ does _ need to get out of bed. The amount of sleep she’s been getting is borderline unhealthy, and she hasn’t done anything magical in  _ weeks _ . 

Marinette groans, rolling out of her bed with a thump- the cat looks down at her from her bed, concerned, and she gives a thumbs up as she stands up with a sigh and opens her closet. 

The cat twines around her ankles, subtly nudging her away from the grays and blacks, and Marinette relents, quietly resigning to the fact that she has a bossy new roommate, and pulls out a pale blue dress that she’s never worn, but she’s considered a lot. It’s simple, more simple than her usual pink outfits, but it’s far better than the drab gray. 

The cat flees the room as she changes, and a part of her wonders if he’s being polite or if he’s gotten bored. 

It turns out to be neither of them when he comes back with a bundle of forget-me-nots, the same color as her dress, and she smiles, pulling her hair up into a sloppy ponytail and tying the cornflowers into it. 

He bats at the ribbon on her dress, patting her fingers when she reaches down to stop him with pink, cute toe beans and claws nowhere to be seen. 

Marinette’s stomach growls and she plods down to the kitchen, looking around with futile hopes that there’ll be something better than stale croissants from her stress baking. 

She finds nothing, as she suspected. She sighs, settling on the kitchen stool and jumping when the cat bumps against her leg. 

Right. Her bossy new roommate needs food too. 

He keeps staring at her, his tongue sticking out slightly in the cutest little blep, and Marinette’s heart melts. She turns away, scrounging through the pantry to find dried strips of meat that should be relatively cat-friendly, but really, there isn’t much left. She  _ really _ needs to go to the market soon, it’s been far too long, but this will do. 

She kneels down and offers the jerky, the cat scarfing it up like it’s the first thing he’s eaten in days- actually, Marinette can’t been sure that he  _ has _ eaten much in the past, and he  _ is _ thinner than he probably should be, now that she’s actually looking. 

And, well, she needs to get used to having a feline roommate. She should probably name him… but that’s for another day. Today, food will have to do. 

She sets a bowl of water down out of the way, her brain going into overdrive as she falls into familiar routines, cleaning like she was a little girl in her parent’s bakery again, like the past six years were nothing. 

But they aren’t. And… as her cat rubs against her legs, she doesn’t wish they hadn’t happened anymore. 

She’s broken, but she’ll be so much stronger when she heals. 


	5. bell + kitten noir

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im late
> 
> oh well

Marinette grins at her cat, stroking his back as he purrs away on her lap. It’s been hours, she thinks, but he hasn’t moved so neither will she. The sunlight is fading, and she’ll have to get up to light candles if she wants to stay up much longer. It’s finally easy to smile, even if it’s over something stupid, and she knows he’s just a cat but she’s missed quiet contact, being able to be next to something living. Being alone was horrible. 

It’s nice, she thinks, to just be here. To not be staring into the distance or crying over her memories, it’s nice to just be in the now. Touch is her love language, and she’s missed being affectionate, having someone just  _ there _ , no words needed. 

Even if that someone is a weird cat who is possibly not a cat. But, well, she’s a witch. No witch would turn down a black cat. 

Marinette hums to herself as she sews, warmth filling up her heart like moonlight, soothing and soft and comforting. She stabs her needle into the pincushion tied to her wrist, reaching over to the drawer of little odds and ends the best she can without disturbing her cat, a little surprised how easy it was to accept him into her life. It’s a habit of hers, she supposes, taking in strays. Adrien wasn’t the first person she took in, no, that would fall on her adopted uncle, a sorcerer named Jagged Stone. She was barely eight when she dragged him home for her parents, and now he’s one of the most successful sorcerers in the city with Penny, his wife, at his side. 

This  _ chat noir _ is just another one of her strays, even if this time  _ he’s _ the one taking care of her. 

Marinette pauses, considering it. Chat Noir. It’s not exactly the most creative name, but it’s not  _ that _ bad. It’s cute, something that Adrien would choose. She ignores the pang in her chest, pulling open the drawer she needs and fishing out a shiny golden bell. She sews it down on the black collar in bright green thread.

Chat Noir wakes up, and she holds the collar out for him to examine, giggling as he sits back, pleased. She clasps it around his neck, smiling softly when a purr rumbles out of his chest, rubbing against her happily. 

“I’m going to call you Chat Noir,” she tells him. He purrs more, and Marinette sighs, glad for the comfort but also terrified to lose him, too. Chat Noir wiggles into her face, booping her nose with a lazy swing of his paw. “Hmm, you don’t seem like a full grown Chat to me. Maybe I should call you kitten noir,” she teases. 

She’s never seen a cat roll their eyes but Chat Noir is pretty close, for a cat anyways. 

The jingle of the bell on Chat’s collar fills the quiet house with just enough noise to break the lonely silence. Marinette misses the days when laughter and sunlight filled her home, but the jingling of the bell and moonlight will have to do for now. 


	6. kwami swap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im late... oh well

Marinette peeks through her fingers at Chat Noir, who’s lazily batting at her broom. She closes her eyes, shoving down happy memories, and looks at Chat again. “Hey, Chat?”

He stops his playing and hops up on the table next to her, giving her his undivided attention. Marinette giggles, rubbing her eyes before the tears fall. He’s cute like this, seeming to know she’s saying something important, that she needs someone to listen. 

“I think I want to reopen the shop,” she whispers, then coughs and tries again. “I want to reopen the shop.”

He rubs against her encouragingly, purring soothingly. She lets out a deep breath, a shy smile pulling at her lips. She’s going to be okay. Everything had seemed so hopeless but she’s going to make it. Adrien’s gone. She doesn’t know if he left or if his past caught up with him or if he’s sick or dying but she’s probably never going to know. And… 

Well, maybe he just left her. 

Ignorance is bliss, they say, and Marinette finally gets that. He’s gone. That’s what matters.

The day is spent in a flurry of motion, of magic swirling around for the first time in weeks. It’s been too long since she’s done anything magical and she doesn’t want to risk it very much, dusting the shelves by hand and laughing as Chat Noir gets covered in dust. It’s almost like the first time she opened the shop, desperately making sure everything is perfect as Adrien fretted over her fretting and it was a disaster, ending in a poof of pink glitter and delaying opening by a day. 

_ Marinette rushed from room to room, grabbing cleaning supplies and herbs, ingredients and books, shoving them onto shelves and then taking them all down and rearranging them, flying past Adrien, who’s awkwardly attempting to wipe down the cashier, watching her with wide eyes.  _

_ “Adrien! Does everything look okay? I think the books are all wrong, I should rearrange that-” Marinette zoomed past again, pulling books out and setting them carefully on the counter before glancing around, replacing the books in new positions and fidgeting. “No, no, that’s all weird, it was so much better before. No one’s going to want to come into a shop where the books are all wrong! I should just give up and go back to live with Maman and Papa and work in the bakery until I die and never do magic again and-” _

_ “Marinette, please breathe. The shop looks beautiful, and if you go back to your parents I’ll be left without a job,” Adrien reminds her, and she lets out a shuddering breath.  _

_ “Yeah. It’s fine the way it is,” Marinette sighs. “Sorry, Adrien, I’m just really stressed.” _

_ “You’ve got this,” Adrien tells her, ignoring his spiraling panic of everything that could possibly go wrong and shoving it deep down. It wouldn’t help, and Marinette is already plagued by anxiety as it is.  _

_ Marinette makes a weird face, then dread fills her features as she sneezes, magical glittery pink covering the entire shop, the windows, and everything in the room. Adrien coughs, glitter spraying everywhere. “Um, Marinette?” _

_ “Dang it! I thought I could control it!” Marinette cries out. “It’s magical overload, it’ll fade in about a day. Unless you want to clean up all the glitter, we’ll… just have to open tomorrow.” Her shoulders slump.  _

_ “You probably need some rest, anyways,” Adrien says, concerned. Marinette nods, retreating into her room.  _

Marinette exhales, setting out the tomes on the familiar shelves. Chat Noir sweeps above her head, the feathers tied to his tail dusting as he explores the shop. She wipes her eyes, fighting back the old memories and giving Chat Noir a watery smile. 

Chat Noir bops her nose with a paw, and Marinette freezes, feeling a sneeze coming up in her nose. She sneezes, opening her eyes carefully and grinning in relief when she finds the store glitter-less. 

Then she looks up. 

Chat Noir is glittery and bright red. With black polka dots. 

He glares down at her, flicking his bedazzled tail feathers in an annoyed manner. 

Marinette can’t help it, she bursts into laughter. 

It’s sparkly red and black Chat that stands beside her when she flips the sign over, it’s the incessant tapping of feathers against her calves that keeps her steady as the first customer walks in, an unfamiliar woman in orange who sneers at her, it’s the sight of Chat’s glitter that distracts Alya from her questioning as she bursts in to hug Marinette and demand to know what happened, and it’s the shine of the glitter that hides Marinette’s tears as she tells Alya how Adrien disappeared, how her parents told her he didn’t even make it to their bakery. 

Even as the sparkles fade, Marinette is ever so grateful for having a ladybug-spotted Chat on her first day in the shop without Adrien. A little extra luck never hurt anyone. 


	7. hold my baton

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im LATE so ive ditched the word count goals  
> also i planned out ladrien june... and started writing... even though i havent finished this yet... heck

Chat Noir twined around Marinette’s legs, nearly making her trip as she made her way downstairs. She giggled as she nudged him aside, smiling at Alya and Nino, who had made it a habit to come over every day for breakfast. “Morning, guys,” she called, and Nino blinked up at her blearily. 

Nino was even less of a morning person than Marinette, she’d quickly learned. “G’morning, M, toss me the spiky fruit,” Alya greeted, deftly snatching the described fruit out of the air. “You and Chat should go open the shop, I’ll bring you breakfast later and Nino can take over the cashier while you eat.”

“Thanks, Al, you’re a lifesaver,” Marinette grinned, blowing her friend a kiss and dashing into her shop, quickly taking inventory and setting everything up for the day. She flipped the sign on the door to open and took a seat, pulling her favorite novel out of it’s treasured place and opening to her bookmark. Despite her early opening times, customers this early was rare. 

She was halfway through the chapter when an irate man burst in, his expensive robes flapping around him instead of flowing like any self respecting witch or sorcerer’s robes would. “This spell I bought from you didn’t work!” he shouted, waving a book around angrily. “It said I could-”

“Sir, please calm down. What happened? Often there is a way to troubleshoot.” Marinette said, rolling her eyes and smoothing Chat’s fur. 

“This spell is supposed to FIX her! My future wife is  _ disgusting _ !” the man snarled, and Chat resisted the urge to hiss. He didn’t like the sound of that. 

Marinette plucked the book from his waving arms and glanced over the page. “Okay, so describe her issues.”

“She wants to marry a WOMAN!! Her father gave me her hand in marriage and that’s how she repays me?? She’s unnatural, I need to fix her!”

Marinette’s eyebrows rose in faint disgust, and she stood up, leaning her broom against the wall. “Chat, hold my broom,” she said, holding out the book amusedly. “Sir, this is a healing spell.”

“WHAT? Where does it say that? I demand a refund!”

“I do not, and never will, sell the type of dark magic needed to change a person like that, and besides that type of magic is nearly impossible and there is often a price to pay,” Marinette continued dryly, stepping around the counter and stalking forward threateningly. She smirked wickedly as he backed away, paling. “It also requires someone to have tact, a sharp wit, and intentions that you can convince a  _ demon _ of. I also do not tolerate homophobia.” She took a final step forward, shoving the book back at the man and slamming the door behind him with an extra gust of wind. 

Chat Noir had never seen anything more badass. 

Alya chose that moment to come swooping down the stairs with a plate of something steaming, and Marinette’s face morphed into a cheery smile as she recollected her broom and took the plate from Alya, letting Nino take her place at the cashier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alya nino what are you two doing you aren't supposed to be here


	8. disguise + chat blanc

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short but sweet... right? no i just don't want to write more sorry lmao

Chat Noir explored the kitchen, chasing the wonderful smell of hot chocolate that had lingered around the room since Marinette had made herself hot chocolate, sneezing at the weird dust in the air. He tumbled backwards, landing on his back, staring up at the edge of some sort of bag. He batted at it, rolling over happily, and sunk his claws in, immensely satisfied at the way they caught in the rough fabric. He tugged, completely unprepared for the bag to tip over and make a giant white poof. 

Chat froze.  _ Flour _ . He’d knocked over the flour. 

Oh, he was so screwed. 

He darted away, sure his fur was flour covered enough to act as a disguise. 

Sure enough, a few minutes later, there was a yell and Marinette called “CHAT NOIR! WHAT DID YOU DO?”

Chat hunkered down, his tail swishing back and forth anxiously. 

Marinette came into view and crouched down, rolling her eyes with a fond smile. “Huh, looks like you’re a Chat Blanc now.” She patted him, then scooped him up and coughed at the flour everywhere. “Try to not knock stuff down very much, okay Chaton?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have become obsessed with my ladrien june idea. doodles on sticky notes everywhere. my window is covered in ladrien doodles. i cannot see outside. why am i like this  
> get back to the marichat, dumb brain

**Author's Note:**

> check out my [tumblr](https://death-by-ladybug.tumblr.com/)  
> and my [writing/art tumblr](https://chaotic-caws.tumblr.com/)  
> comments and kudos appreciated!


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